There is a reason

Gosh, I wish I wasn't writing this post. I have so much to talk about: Madeline, baseball, homeschool. But no. This post won't be about any of the above. Remember my sister's dear friend?

It's been just over a year since the word "cancer" pierced her ears and stung her heart (and ours, too.) Since that time, she has undergone chemotherapy, given birth to her son, had surgery to remove her tumor, and radiation. The end result? A PET scan this month showed her breast cancer has spread to her lungs. There is no cure for metastatic breast cancer.

To say that we are all devastated would be a gross understatement. She's 32 years old and a mother to three young children. To hear her talk about how she's going to live out her remaining time with her children is simply gut wrenching. Her days are numbered. Numbered. Those words cut so very deep. It's not right to hear them. It's simply not. It's a hard reality to accept, save for the grace of our Heavenly Father.

Why? Why would He allow such a horrible thing to happen to her and her family? I can't help but think of Job and how God allowed such horrendous things to happen in his life. Does He like them? No. But He allows them just the same.

When I first learned of my own mother's cancer diagnosis, I felt the world crumble below me. Stage 4 ovarian cancer. Yep. Her days were numbered. I knew it from the start. There would be no victory over cancer for her. And almost three years later, it took her life. I remember after my mom showed no response to her last round of chemo, it was only a matter of months before she died. Her "non response" to treatment finally "arrived." Reality was settling in quickly.

The hope that I clung to was that God has a purpose and a reason for everything under the sun. He has appointed for us a time to live and a time to die (Ecc 3:1-2). And He would make all things good (Romans 8:28). Although it may be difficult to believe in these truths in the midst of darkness, they are HIS truths. We may not know what His purpose is in the time of our darkest hour, why we sometimes have to suffer the way we do. But we can rest in the knowledge that He does. He makes no mistakes, and He loves us dearly. There is a reason.

I cling to these truths, yet again, as I begin to accept the plan the Lord has for my sister's dear friend. We may not like it. Seriously, who would? But it's His plan for her life. His loving and perfect plan. And she will some day soon see Him in heaven. If you pray, please join me in praying for the Lord's peace to fill her and her family's hearts and the for the Lord's truths to fill their minds.

I heard this song by Caedmon's Call playing in the background today while I was doing some sewing. And I just about fell out of my chair. These were the very truths I clung to seven years ago and the same ones I am clinging to today. Have a listen.